Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s research entitled Understanding asylum seeker and refugee vulnerabilities and needs (2022), published on 22 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of its findings for her policies on (a) asylum seeker safeguarding and (b) enforcement culture in her Department.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under review, taking into account a wide range of research and evidence, as well as consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, whether the proposed increase in the standard qualifying period for permanent residence from five to ten years will apply only to newly-arrived migrants.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Metropolitan Police on the policing at the Quaker meeting house in Westminster on 27 March 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Metropolitan Police are operationally independent of the government. It is for the police to make decisions about how to respond to specific incidents based on their professional judgement and the circumstances at hand.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on (a) the review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy and (b) detention for vulnerable people.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy is ongoing and external engagement is taking place during the first quarter of 2025. A range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), will be invited to view and comment on any proposals for reform, as part of this external engagement work.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to consult with LGBTQI+ sector (a) organisations and (b) individuals on the review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy is ongoing and external engagement is taking place during the first quarter of 2025. A range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), will be invited to view and comment on any proposals for reform, as part of this external engagement work.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) equitability and (b) affordability of fees for citizenship applications; and whether she plans to review those fees.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office routinely considered issues around equitability and affordability, among other considerations, when making determinations on the appropriate level of fees to charge for immigration and nationality applications.
The Home Office previously published an Equality Impact Assessment which includes considerations in respect of citizenship fees: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1004/pdfs/uksiod_20231004_en_001.pdf.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will embed youth work in A&Es.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safe Streets mission. We are taking a range of steps to realise this ambition, including creating a new Young Futures Programme to intervene earlier to stop young people being drawn into violent crime. It is vital we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most.
As part of this, the Government’s manifesto committed to offering young people a pathway out of violence by placing youth workers and mentors in A&E units and Alternative Provision Schools (formally called Pupil Referral units).
A&E navigator programmes are currently funded in all 20 VRU areas. These programmes place navigators, such as youth workers, in hospital emergency rooms to support children and young people with a violence-related injury and offer a pathway out of violence. The proposed Police Settlement for 2025/26 includes £49.7m for the continuation of the VRU programme. We will continue to build on, and learn from, the work already underway.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the 2024 report by the Youth Endowment Fund entitled Children, violence and vulnerability.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office works closely with the Youth Endowment Fund to ensure that their findings on what works to reduce violence amongst young people are carefully considered to positively influence the development of youth services.
We will carefully consider the findings from this report as part of the Government's Plan for Change and the Safer Streets Mission which includes an ambition to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls; and actions to build confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.
The Young Futures Programme is a key part of this and will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, to intervene earlier to offer support for Young People in a more systematic way, as well as creating more opportunities for them in their communities.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect teenagers from violence and abuse in relationships.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is considering a wide range of actions to address teenage relationship violence and abuse, including assessing whether any changes to the law are needed and supporting our education system to teach children about respectful and healthy relationships and consent.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to resume processing asylum applications from Syrian nationals.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review, so we can respond to emerging issues. Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria.
Consequently, as the Home Office continues to assess the current situation in Syria, the Home Office has temporarily paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims.
We will provide a further update to Parliament as soon as possible.